Portable dry-closet.



' PA TENTED NOV. 10, 1903.

J. BANNER.

PORTABLE DRY CLOSET.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

wamwm No. 743,834. PATENTED NOV. 10, 1903. J. BANNER.

PORTABLE DRY CLOSET.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1903.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEB'IS BHEP-T 2.

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UNITED STATES Patented November 10, 1903.

JOSEPH DANNER, OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF TWO.- THIRDS TOJAMES J CROGHAN AND ALFRED TURNER, OF SCRAN- Ton, PENNSYLVANIA.

PORTABLE D RY CLOSET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 743,834, dated November10, 1903. Application filed July 2, 1903. Serial No. 164,033. (Nomodel.)

T0 on whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J osnrn BANNER, a citi zen of the United States,residing at Scranton,

in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Portable Dry Closets, of whichthe following is a specification.

The purpose of my invention is to provide a portable and sanitarydry-closet system for army use or for use wherever a large number ofpersons are temporarily located or camped and where no permanentsanitary closet system is available.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention, Figure 1 isa side view of the apparatus, the flexible curtain or covering beingpartly broken away. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same with the coveringpartly removed. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the apparatusonthe line 3 3 of Figs. 2 and 4. Fig. t is a transverse section on theline 4 at of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the removabletop of the casing.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates an inclosed wagon body or casingconstructed mainly of metal and mounted upon a wheeled truck B,to whichhorses or other motive power may be attached for thepurpose oftransporting the apparatus from place to place. Within the casing, nearits ends, are arranged transverse partitions 1 and 2, and grate-bars 3and 4 are located between said partitions and the adjacent ends of thecasing. The portions of the casing between the transverse partitions 1and 2 and the ends of the casing constitute furnace chambers orcompartments a'and b, and the intermediate portion 0 of the casingbetween said partitions serves as a vault to receive the fecal matterand in which this matter is dried and burned. A concave partition 5divides the vault a into an upper compartment 6 and a lower compartment7. This concave partition, as shown, has a series of raised portions orribs 8 extending transversely of the partition and intermediate de--pressions or channels 9. Small openings 8 extend through the raisedportions of thepartition to permit air to pass through from the lowercompartment 7 into the upper compartment 6. In one side of the casing aseriesof openings 10 are formed for the purpose of permitting access tothe compartment 7 and of admitting air to said compartment. Doors 11 areprovided for'closing these openings and for regulating the drafttherethrough. Furnace-doors 12 and 13 are also provided in one side ofthe wagon body or casing at each end, through which the fires on thegrates may be given proper attention and the draft regulated. A stack 14is connected to the furnacechamber a, and this stack is preferably madein two sections, connected by a hinge-joint 15, so that while theapparatus is being transported the upper section of the stack may befolded back out of the way of trees and other obstructions,as shown indotted lines, Fig. 1.

The top of the wagon body or casing is made in two parts. The forwardtop piece or part 16 is suitably secured in positiomand this fixed partcovers the furnace-chamber a and supports the stack 14. The vault andrear furnace-chamber are covered by a removable top piece or plate cl,which rests upon the sides and rear end of the casing and is heldagainst lateral and end movement by ribs 17, secured to the lower sideof said top piece near its edges. fit against the inner walls of thecasing. Two series of seat openings 18 and 19, having hinged covers 20,are formed in the top piece at at opposite sides of an upright partition21, which extends longitudinally along the central line of the removabletop piece, these openings when the top piece is in position beinglocated over the channels or depressions 9 in the partition 5.Partitions 22 and 23 are arranged upon the top piece cl transversely atthe ends of the central partition, and intermediate transversepartitions 24: are arranged between the adjacent seat-openings of eachseries, thus dividing the removable top into a number of stalls orclosets, each having a seatopening over the vault. Footboards 25- arearranged longitudinally of the sides of the casing opposite theseat-openings and at a suit-able distance below the top of the casing toprovide a support for the feet of individuals using the apparatus. Thesefootboards extend to a short distance beyond the end partitions of theseries of closets. For

When in position, these ribs the sake of privacy a canvas or otherflexible covering or curtain 26 is arranged-transversely of the casingover the partitions, and the ends of the flexible covering extenddownwardly at the sides of the casing and to a short distance below thefootboards. A rod 27 extends along the edge of each footboard, andstep-ladders 28 are provided with hooked ends 29, which may be hookedover the rods and form hinge-joints therewith. When the apparatus is inuse, a step-ladder is arranged at one end of each footboard, and personsmay then pass from the ground onto the end of a footboard, and thencepass along the footboard between the curtain and the partitions andenter the closets. The ends of the curtains may, if desired, be tied tothe rods 27.

In use a fire is kept constantlyhurningin the furnace-chamber a tocreate a draft through the vault and destroy the odors and gases comingfrom the vault and also to evaporate moisture from the upper and lowerchambers of the vault. Sand, sawdust, or other absorbent material isplaced upon the bottom of the lower compartment of the vault, and anyexcess of liquid in the upper compartment passes through the openings inthe concave partition and falls upon this absorbent material. One ormore of the doors 11 are left open and air entering therethroughcontinually evaporates the moisture from the absorbent material. Part ofthis air passes into the furnace-chamber a below the grate and partpasses through the openings in the concave partition and, on account ofits proximity to the matter upon said partition, carries offconsiderable moisture therefrom and passes thence into thefurnace-chamber a. \Vhen the channels in the concave partition of thevault are filled to the level of the ribs or raised portions of thepartition, a fire is started in the furnace-chamber b, and the heat andflames from this fire, passing through the vault to the chamber a, drythe material in the vault and consume it. If necessary, in order to aidcombustion, kerosene or other inflammable liquid may be poured throughthe seat -openings onto the sediment in the concave partition. In orderto remove the ashes from the concave partition when an accummulationoccurs, the top piece d may be removed and the contents of the uppercompartment of the vault shovelcd out. The absorbent material in thelower compartment of the vault may be removed when necessary andreplaced with clean absorbent material by shoveling itthrough theopenings 10.

In transporting the apparatus the upper section of the stack is swunginto a horizontal position and supported by the closet-partitions, asshown in the drawings, and the flexible curtain or covering may berolled up. The step-ladders may also be swung upward on theirhinge-joints and tied together over the top of the apparatus.

As this portable-closet system dispenses with the improvised andinsanitary trenches and closet arrangements usually resorted to byarmies and others in camp, and as the fecal matter as well as the odorsand gases therefrom are burned, the large amount of sickness in camplife resulting from such causes is averted.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-

1. In a portable dry-closet system, an inclosed wagon body or casingmounted upon a suitable truck and having a top provided with alongitudinal series of seat-openings, partitions extending upwardlybetween said seat-openings, and means for creating a draft through saidcasing, comprising a furnacechamber arranged in one end of the casingand a stack communicating with said chamher.

2. In a port-able dry-closet system, an inclosed wagon body or casingmounted upon a suitable truck and having a top provided with alongitudinal series of seat-openings, partitions extending upwardlybetween said seat-openings, a footboard extending along the side of saidcasing below its top and opposite said seat openings, and means forcreating a draft through said casing, comprising a furnace-chamberarranged in one end of the casing and a stack communicating with saidchamber.

3. In a portable dry-closet system, an inclosed wagon body or casingmounted upon a suitable truck and having a removable top provided with alongitudinal series of seatopenings, partitions extending upwardlybetween said seat-openings, and means for creating a draft through saidcasing, comprising a furnace-chamber arranged in one end of the.

casing and a stack communicating with said chamber.

4. In a portable dry-closet system, an in closed wagon body or casingmounted upon a suitable truck and having a top provided with alongitudinal series of seat-openings, transversely-arranged partitionsextending upwardly between said seat-openings, a flexible coveringarranged over the edges of said partitions, and means for creating adraft through said casing, comprising a furnacechamber arranged in oneend .of the casing and a stack communicating with said chamher.

5. In a portable dry-closet system, an inclosed wagon body or casingmounted upon a suitable truck and having a top provided with alongitudinal series of seat-openings, a vertical partition extendingupwardly between the two series of seat-openings, partitions arrangedtransverselybetween adjacent seat-' openings in each series, a flexiblecover extending over the edges of the transverse partitions, footboardsextending along both sides of the casing below the top and opposite saidseat-openings, and means for creating a draft through said casing,comprising afurnace-chamber arranged at one end of the casing and astack communicating with said chamber.

6. In a portable dry-closet system, an inclosed metal wagon body orcasing mounted upon a suitable truck, said casing having a top providedwith a series of seat-openings and partitions between said openings, avault within the casing beneath said openings, furnace-chambers at bothends of said vault, and a stack communicating with one of saidfurnace-chambers.

7. In a portable dry-closet system, an inclosed metal wagon body orcasing mounted upon a suitable truck, said casing having a top providedwith a longitudinal series of seat-openings, partitions extendingupwardly from said top between said seat-openings, a

footboard extending along the side of said casing below its top andopposite said seatopenings, and a step-ladder detachably connected tosaid footboard.

8. In a portable dry-closet system, an inclosed metal wagon body orcasing mounted upon asuitable truck, said casing having a removable toppiece provided with a series of seat-openings and partitions betweensaid openings, a vault within the casing beneath said openings, andmeans for creating a draft through said casing comprising afurnace andstack arranged at one end of the casing.

9. In a portable dry-closet system, an inclosed metal wagon body orcasing mounted upon a suitable truck, said casing having a removable toppiece provided with a series of seat-openings and partitions betweensaid openings, a vault within the casing beneath said openings,furnace-chambers at both ends of said vault, and a stack communicatingwith one of said furnace-chambers.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH BANNER.

WVitnesses:

WILLIAM A. Gmenn, ALBERT HEIER.

